


Snakes and Angels

by WolfPrincessWind



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Fantasy, Fluff, sfw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 04:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12999504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfPrincessWind/pseuds/WolfPrincessWind
Summary: After being captured by the Southside Serpents for snooping around their territory, Cheryl meets Toni Topaz at the Whyte Wyrm. Though Cheryl initially showed her contempt, she became drawn back to her for some reason. She's also having trouble dealing with Jason's death, and believes that somehow he's still alive after seeing his apparition in her bedroom window.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this fanfic is good. I've been working pretty hard on it, trying to fill the need for more Toni and Cheryl fics.

Toni relaxed in the Whyte Wyrm, reading a book about photography. The quiet hours had settled in over the southside bar, so she had allowed herself to take a little extra time off before it became a bustling madhouse again. As she was enjoying herself, the sound of muffled voices outside of the bar had disturbed her peace. With an annoyed groan, Toni stood up from her chair and set her book down on the counter behind her. She stepped towards the entrance to the bar, and pressed her ear against the door. The voices became more audible, and they were nearing the bar. They sounded gruff, frustration in their tones. Toni listened more closely, and she heard the voice of a female accompanying them.  
As Toni slunk back behind the counter, the door to the Whyte Wyrm opened with a cheerful jingling sound. Two rough looking men stepped into the bar, their hands latched onto a terrified young woman. They both wore leather jackets, with patches on their backs signifying their allegiance to the Southside Serpents. The girl, however, was wearing a simple red dress and tall, black boots. Her hair was bright red. She was struggling to escape the grip of the two serpents, but she had no luck no matter how hard she tried.  
Toni raised an eyebrow, “What did she do?”  
“She was skulkin’ around on serpent turf. Gettin’ into trouble, just like her twin brother used to,” he spoke and gave her a dark look.  
“Put her down,” she commanded.  
The serpents gave each other a look, and then silently pushed her into a leather chair.  
“Never thought I’d see another Blossom around here. Especially you, Cheryl,” said Toni. She was slightly in awe.  
Cheryl rubbed her arms, trying to get rid of the pain. The serpents had dug into her with their rugged fingernails, making marks on her skin. She muttered a curse, and then looked directly at Toni without responding to what she had said.  
“Jughead tells me you’re a show-off, and yet you won’t say a thing.” Toni kneeled down to Cheryl’s level, and looked her in the eyes, “What brings you here?”  
“Those two miscreants,” said Cheryl irritably, pointing at the two who had brought her in.  
“Viper and Tiger can be rough,” Toni said, eyeing the marks on Cheryl’s arm, “I’ll put them in their place later.  
“She was followin’ us,” spoke Tiger, the shorter one. He had a ragged black beard, and beady eyes. Black stripes were tattooed on his arm. It was easy to understand where he got his nickname from. Cheryl looked up at the two. They stood behind Toni, almost as if they were guarding her.  
“She should be glad we didn’t pull a gun on her! Would of ended up just like her brother,” said the other. He was tall and thin, with a narrow face and slanted green eyes that watched Cheryl with contempt. She wanted to cry after hearing his words. She had her fists balled up, but abstained from causing any trouble.  
“Watch your tongue, Viper!” warned Toni, a sudden expression of rage crossing her face.  
As much as Cheryl had despised being in this place, at least one of the serpents was being hospitable. She recognized her from the race that Jughead and Archie had been at, but only knew her as “Cha-Cha.”  
“Sorry about him,” said Toni quietly, “He can be a real bitch.” She stood up and looked at Cheryl. She analyzed her expression, and sighed. She was frightened, even if she was trying to hide it by putting up a cold defense.  
Cheryl had a steely glare on her face, “I would like it if those two left,” she said, her disgruntled expression on the serpents.  
Toni looked back at them, “You heard her. Go upstairs, we’ll have a talk later.”  
They left the room without a word, leaving Toni and Cheryl alone. The redhead gave a sigh of relief, letting herself finally relax.  
“You’re not in trouble. Only those on our list get any punishment.”  
Cheryl pondered what she had meant by that, but continued to listen.  
“Before we talk about why you’re here, do you need anything? A drink, a ride home… a jacket?” Toni saw that she had been shivering, and it was probably due to the fact that she was wearing a short, sleeveless dress.  
Cheryl tried to conceal herself out of embarrassment, but gave up, “That would be nice,” she timidly accepted.  
Toni disappeared up the stairs for a few minutes, leaving Cheryl to herself. She looked around the bar. Admittedly, she liked the soft neon signs lighting up the place. She left her chair and drifted over to the other side of the bar. A large tank sat on a table. She peered into it, wondering what type of animal had been living in it. As she expected, a snake poked its nose out of its den. The albino python looked up at her curiously, lashing its tongue out every so often.  
“I see that you’re interested in our snake,” said Toni, who had returned with a leather jacket, “Her name’s Buttercup. She’s a friendly little reptile.” She handed the jacket to Cheryl, and then took the top off of Buttercup’s enclosure. She reached in and picked up the snake, who eagerly slithered up her arm and rested on her shoulder.  
“You named that thing ‘Buttercup?’” Cheryl asked, backing away slightly.  
“She doesn’t bite,” said Toni cheerfully, “But she does squeeze every so often.” She stroked the snake lightly, Cheryl watched her handle the animal, squirming uncomfortably.  
“That thing’s going to kill me,” she squeaked, backing away as Buttercup stuck her neck out.  
“Go on and pet her.”  
“No way!”  
“She’s safe, trust me.” Toni inched towards her, the snake still wrapped around her shoulder.  
Cheryl still resisted, but seemed to be warming up. The amber-eyed snake flicked its tongue at her, and swayed its tail back and forth patiently. Finally, Cheryl cautiously reached her hand out and stroked Buttercup’s head, though she still seemed a little frightened.  
“See? She can’t hurt you. Just don’t make her mad,” Toni winked. After those words, Cheryl quickly retracted her hand. Toni put Buttercup back in her enclosure, and set the lid on top of it.  
“This doesn’t really seem like the type of thing you’d wear… but here,” she handed the jacket to Cheryl. The redhead had looked on it to see if there was a patch on it in the likeness of a snake, but was relieved when she found no such image. She put on the jacket and zipped it up.  
“Looks good on you,  
“Not bad, Cha-Cha,” said Cheryl, then covered her mouth realizing the nickname she had given her, “What’s your name…?”  
“Toni Topaz, resident princess of the Serpents,” she said proudly, “the only ones above me here in rank are FP, Penny, Jughead, and Tall Boy.”  
“Princesses don’t dress up in snake jackets,” retorted Cheryl.  
“This one does,” Toni sunk into a leather chair, grabbing a book on the small wooden table beside her.  
Just as Cheryl had gotten comfortable herself, the door to the Whyte Wyrm burst open. In walked another redhead, Penelope Blossom.  
“Cheryl, you-” she was so filled with rage that she couldn’t even finish her sentence. Her teeth were clenched, and her fists were as well. She quickly grabbed Cheryl by the wrist, pulling her up from her chair.  
“You are in huge trouble young lady,” she hissed into her ear.  
Toni got up as well, “It’s not her fault!” she exclaimed.  
“It is so,” she defended, “and why should I trust a snake like you?”  
Toni furrowed her brow. She was not going to take this crap, especially from that hag. She crossed her arms and glared at her.  
“Because I won’t abuse her,” she muttered under her breath.  
Penelope dragged Cheryl along and exited the bar, but not before she could yell at Toni for “tainting” her daughter.  
“That woman’s a piece of work,” said Toni bitterly before going upstairs. 

Cheryl struggled away from her mother. Penelope got close up in her face and scolded her for being on the southside. She made up an excuse, saying that she was only there to find out more about Jason.  
“Oh, really? He’s gone Cheryl, he was killed by your father and my husband. There’s no more evidence out there for his death. There’s nothing more to find. We’re going home.”  
Cheryl didn’t respond. Instead, she clutched a piece of torn white fabric in her jacket’s pocket.  
When arrived at Thistlehouse, Penelope sent Cheryl straight to her room. As Cheryl ascended up the stairs, Penelope called, “And take off that jacket.” She huffed and ignored her request. She entered her room. It was smaller than her old bedroom at Thornhill had been. It was also less high-class. From her ceiling hung succulents in beds of moss, encased by glass so the moisture that kept the plants alive wouldn’t drain. Her bed was a twin-sized, enough room to fit only her. She took off the jacket and hung it on her coat rack, and then flopped down on her bed. She thought about the serpent she had talked to, and about the piece of fabric she had found while following Viper and Tiger. Just as this thought occurred to her, she hastily got up from her bed and pulled it out of her coat’s pocket. In her hand laid a piece of torn, white fabric. It had been dirtied by the elements, and was covered with faded smudges of mud.  
Jason, she immediately thought, staring longingly at the scrap. She tightened her fists, the fabric wrinkling in her hand. Every day she continued to miss him. Then, she sighed. Cheryl opened the drawer to her bedside table and shoved the fabric deep into its confines. After that, she shut it and tried to shake the thought of her brother.  
Her phone dinged. She looked up, and saw Jughead’s name on the screen. Questioning why she had even added his number to her phone in the first place, she took a closer look at the text she received. 

Jughead, 8:37 PM  
“Why were you at the Wyrm?”  
Me, 8:38 PM  
“It wasn’t my first intention. How did I get your number again?”  
Jughead, 8:39 PM  
“It was in eighth grade. You felt bad for me because I only had 3 contacts in my phone.”  
Me, 8:39 PM  
“And I bet that number’s barely changed since then.”  
Me, 8:40 PM  
“Did Toni tell you what happened?”  
Jughead, 8:42 PM  
“That Viper and Tiger dragged you to the bar, and that your mom dragged you right back out. By the way, Toni says you can keep the jacket.”  
Me, 8:43 PM  
“That saves me the hassle of going back there to return it… do the serpents have a collection of ‘treasures?’”  
Jughead, 8:43 PM  
“I’ve never seen it myself. How did you find it?”  
Me, 8:44 PM  
“Following two serpents for hours at a time can get you a lot of information. But there’s no use in lying if you were thinking of trying to.”  
Jughead, 8:45 PM  
“Did you take anything?”  
Me, 8:46 PM  
“You’ll figure that out soon enough.”

Cheryl shut off her phone, a devious smile creeping across her face. It chimed once, and then did again after a short period of time. She ignored both texts. Moonlight hit her face through the window. The silvery orb in the sky was full, and partially obscured by the clouds. As she turned to look outside, that’s when she saw him.  
Jason Blossom was gazing through her window, wearing the same outfit that he had the day Cheryl last saw him. She turned around frightfully, but when she looked back, he was gone. She felt wary, and crawled completely under her blankets, closing her eyes to try and remove the image from her mind.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! It's a bit of a filler, but it adds a bit of insight. Hope you enjoy!

Jughead scoured Southside High, attempting to find Toni. After his conversation with Cheryl, he was curious as to if she had seen the ‘trophies’ that they discussed. After all, Toni had been a serpent longer than him, so maybe she had seen it before. As he pushed past people in the hallway, he glimpsed a lock of pink hair ahead of him. Frantically, he caught up with Toni before she had turned the corner. He tapped her shoulder and sighed, “Where have you been?” he asked.  
“I was at the Wyrm earlier this morning. FP promised to give me a bonus if I skipped part of the school day to work instead. What’s up, Jug?” she looked up, noticing the concerned look on his face, and then became more interested.  
“Have you heard of a collection of trophies within the serpents?”  
Toni’s expression darkened. Without explaining further, she grabbed Jughead’s hand and muttered, “We can’t talk about this publicly.” He followed her as she weaved throughout the building and then out the school’s back doors. Once they arrived in the school’s courtyard, she stopped pulling him along and released his hand.   
“Where did you hear about this?”  
“Cheryl told me. She also didn’t give me very much information on where she found them.”  
“So that’s why Tiger and Viper…” she trailed off and pondered the situation. What could Cheryl find so interesting there? Most of those items were trinkets that came from murders and other types of crime. Then it occurred to her that something related to Jason could be one of those trinkets.   
“Most of that stuff the ghoulies keep are related to murder. Something of Jason’s could have been there. I can take you, but we have to be sneaky,” warned Toni.  
“I can do that. What if we’re caught?”  
“Then you better know how to fight.” The fierceness in Toni’s voice made Jughead shiver. They headed down to the White Wyrm and Toni led him to back of the bar. On the ground there was a cellar door with old white paint on it. It was chipping off, revealing the original finish. Toni grabbed the rusty handle and opened it out, allowing Jughead to step down the stairs in front of her. The dank stairway unnerved them both. It felt as if there were another presence looming around them as they descended down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, they were greeted by a small basement. The dim light flickered eerily. In front of them was a case on the wall. There were four shelves. The glass was smudged and scratched. A piece of lined paper was taped on the glass. It read “DO NOT OPEN!!” in marker. Toni and Jughead looked at each other and ignored the warning.   
“Well, here we are,” she announced.   
“Creepy.”  
“Isn’t it?”  
Toni stepped over to the case and undid the metal latch on the sliding door. She opened it, and took a close look at what was in there. They were all labeled sloppily, described with lined paper and marker just like the warning on the door was. Some items were weapons from unsolved murders, some were the clothing of victims or notorious criminals, other things were just rare weapons, kept whether they had been associated with crime or hadn’t been.   
“Crazy shit,” murmured Jughead. Toni nodded in agreement.   
“Mind if I take a look at the labels?”   
“Go ahead,” Toni stepped aside, making way for him.  
Jughead peered at each and every tag, hoping to find one that would’ve had Jason’s name on it, or something that would have hinted at his murder. After reading each and every piece of paper, he had no luck.  
“Cheryl took the tag too,” he said.  
“She stole from the serpents. She wouldn’t want to make that too obvious.” Toni shut the sliding glass door.   
“They’ll find out eventually.”  
“Yeah, but if we protected her, nothing would happen.”  
“Protected her?”   
“Nevermind. It’s not important now.” Toni glanced at the corner. Her eyes widened. As Jughead began to start back up the stairs, she pulled him back over to where she was. Laying in the corner was a torn up piece of paper. She frantically picked up every piece she could find and held them in her hand.   
“Jughead, I don’t think she took the tag…” she held the paper in her hands with slight awe.   
“Let’s go, Toni. I don’t have a good feeling about this place.”  
“Agreed,” they clambered up the stairs and enclosed the basement once again.

***

Cheryl stared out her window. There were tears in her eyes. A wistful feeling had overtaken her. A desire for her brother tugged at her heart. All of a sudden, even after months, he had simply appeared. She wiped away the tears blurring her vision, and closed the curtains on her windows. Then, she collapsed on her bed and tried to fall asleep.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a short chapter! I've been busy,

The next morning, Toni had gotten up and set her sights on Thistlehouse. She was going to talk to Cheryl, but she would need to get past Penelope somehow. That vulture had already seen her face, and she had a feeling that Cheryl wouldn’t respond to Jughead very well. She decided to text Jughead for her number.

Me, 10:34 AM  
“Hey, Jug. I’ve got a question.”  
Jughead, 10:34 AM  
“Go on.”  
Me, 10:35 AM  
“What’s Cheryl’s number?”

While Jughead had initially expressed confusion with her asking this, he ended up giving her Cheryl’s phone number in the end. Toni considered this a victory, and eagerly texted Cheryl.

 

Me, 10:40 AM  
“Is this Cheryl?”  
Unknown, 10:41 AM  
“How did you get ahold of my number??? I don’t give my contact info to just anyone.”  
Me, 10:42 AM  
“That answers my question. It’s me, Toni.”  
Cheryl, 10:43 AM  
“The pink-haired chick from the southside? What do you want? And how did you get my number…??”  
Me, 10:44 AM  
“Jughead, which is odd because he’s the type of person you would consider ‘scum.’ Anyways, we need to talk. And not over text.”  
Cheryl, 10:45 AM  
“Have you realized that the Southside is so trashy and filled with so much tyranny that you want to be a Northsider now?”  
Me, 10:46 AM  
“NO, Cheryl. But I have noticed that you stole from the ghoulies and I’m here to keep you safe.”  
Cheryl, 10:50 AM  
“Meet me at Hanes Park. 11 o’clock sharp.”

Toni didn’t respond. She hastily got ready, making sure she had the scraps of paper.. She equipped her serpent jacket so any intruders that tried to interrupt their meetup would be frightened off. She started towards the park, walking along the uneven gravel road. The park came into view quickly. It was always mysterious in the mornings, as it was surrounded by ancient trees and shrouded by fog. She spotted Cheryl sitting on a bench, waiting patiently, and approached her.  
“Hello, snake,” said Cheryl in a cheery tone of voice.  
“At least call me by my name,” said Toni, “I’ve got something for you.”  
“And what might that be?”  
Toni reached into her jacket’s pocket, and pulled out the crumpled scraps of paper. They spelled out Jason’s name in fragments.  
Cheryl’s warm expression quickly disappeared. She took the papers and muttered a quiet “Thank you.”  
Toni was about to leave, as she had done everything she meant to, but then a force in the back of her mind told her to stay. She changed her mind rather abruptly, and sat down beside Cheryl.  
“Do you have any friends?” she asked suddenly.  
Cheryl pondered for a moment. She wanted to seem high and mighty, but if she said a lie, she’d feel bad. This serpent was treating her right.  
“Not really,” she admitted, “I mean there’s Veronica and Josie, but they have other people to focus on. I’m no one’s best friend.”  
Toni frowned. She saw that Cheryl was smiling, but it was a melancholy, wistful smile.  
“There’s someone who used to be my best friend, but he’s not around.”  
Toni wondered who she could be referring to at first, but then quickly realized that it was Jason she had been talking about.  
“I’ve got to go,” said Cheryl uncomfortably, then she got up and disappeared into the mist leaving Toni on her own.


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's short, but I had a lot of fun writing it. Next chapter, shit's gonna go down.

“Cheryl?” she could hear his voice whispering in the back of her mind.  
“Jason?” she called to him out loud.  
There was no response.   
Of course, she was just hearing things. She was always hearing Jason since he died. She felt him, too. Cheryl hadn’t believed in spirits before his death, but after he was gone, that viewpoint had changed. Ever since she thought she had spotted him in the window, there was a feeling nagging her, telling her that he was still out there.  
“Jason, please…” Cheryl said again. She closed her eyes and leaned back on the headboard of her bed.   
“Cher-Cher,” said a playful voice.  
Cheryl opened her eyes. Jason stood there, smiling calmly as he usually had. But he had bright, feathered white wings. Cheryl started to cry.   
“Jason, is that really you?” she sobbed between breaths.   
“Come here,” he sat on her bed and cradled her as she weeped. She never did too well with situations like this, especially because of her dramatic nature.   
He held her for about thirty minutes before she finally calmed down. She appeared to be tired from all of her crying, and she stopped quivering.  
“Are you alright now?” Jason chuckled.   
“I-I think.”  
“Look at me.”  
Cheryl turned her head slightly to meet his eyes. They were still steel-blue, and sparkled in the light.   
“I really missed you,” she said quietly. Her voice trembled, but at least she was coherent.   
He hushed her, “I know, I know,” he reassured her.   
After a long, heavy silence, Jason noticed that his sister had fallen asleep right in his arms. He gently wrapped his wings around her and was careful not to move too suddenly. 

Cheryl and Jason, the unbreakable duo.   
Finally, they were together again.


End file.
